Change of office address: Regional Authority Ahmedabad notified with new contact details and territorial jurisdiction for Gujarat.
Change of office address of the Regional Authority, Ahmedabad is notified under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 by amendment to Appendix 1 of the Handbook of Procedure. The office is designated at 3rd floor, HUDCO Bhavan, Ishwar Bhuvan Road, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380009 with telephone and email provided, and territorial jurisdiction covers Gujarat State excluding areas under Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat and the Development Commissioner, KFTZ.

Parking of unutilised ECB proceeds extended as one time relief, permitting term deposit parking until March 2022.
Unutilised ECB proceeds drawn down on or before March 1, 2020 may be parked in term deposits with Authorized Dealer Category I banks for an additional period up to March 1, 2022 as a one time relaxation; all other ECB provisions remain unchanged and AD Category I banks must notify their constituents, with the Master Direction to be updated accordingly.

Contribution basis for AMC capital revised to average AUM of debt-oriented schemes for the latest financial year; other terms unchanged.
SEBI modifies its prior circular so that AMC contributions to the LPCC's share capital shall be calculated in proportion to the Average AUM of specified debt-oriented schemes for the 2020-21 financial year; scheme scope and all other terms and conditions of the earlier circular remain unchanged.

Quarterly Return Monthly Payment Scheme allows quarterly GSTR-3B with monthly tax payments, subject to eligibility and payment rules.
QRMP permits taxpayers with up to five crore turnover to file quarterly GSTR-3B while making monthly tax deposits for the first two months; eligibility is GSTIN-wise and subject to turnover thresholds and specified opt-in/opt-out windows. Outward supplies are reported quarterly in GSTR-1 with an optional IFF for selected invoices in the first two months. Monthly payment may be by a system Fixed Sum Method (pre-filled PMT-06) or Self-Assessment, deposits reserved to offset quarterly liability on filing GSTR-3B, with interest and late-fee consequences where prescribed.

Amnesty scheme offers waiver of interest and penalties and conditional settlement of pre GST arrears by taxpayers.
Amnesty Scheme 2021 permits electronic opt in settlement of specified pre GST arrears by granting full waiver of interest and penalties and a reduction of principal for lump sum or installment payment, subject to exclusion of certain KGST era dues from reduction. Taxpayers must withdraw pending appeals, receive credit for earlier tax or amnesty payments (excluding penalty payments), and complete payments within prescribed timelines; default on installments revokes relief and restarts recovery. Assessing authorities verify options electronically and permit e payment, with provisions for representation and district level outreach.

Electronic issuance of Preferential Certificate of Origin via e CoO requires DSC registration and enables electronic and wet ink certified copies.
Electronic issuance of Preferential Certificates of Origin for exports to Mauritius under IMCECPA will be implemented via the DGFT e CoO platform from 1 April 2021, producing Original, Duplicate, Triplicate and an electronic copy with the officer's image signature and issuing agency stamp; exporters may obtain wet ink signed paper copies. Use requires registration and a Class III Digital Signature Certificate embedding the exporter's Importer Exporter Code, with IEC details auto populated from the DGFT database and maintainable via IEC Profile Management; platform guidance and helpdesk support are provided.

Dynamic QR Code requirement on B2C invoices: QR content and payment cross reference rules determine compliance.
Clarifies that the Dynamic QR Code requirement applies to B2C tax invoices by registered persons above the turnover threshold, subject to specified exclusions and excluding supplies treated as B2B for e invoicing (including exports). The QR Code must include supplier identifiers, payment details, bank account/IFSC, invoice number/date, total value and GST breakup and be scannable for digital payment. An invoice that displays the QR Code or records a cross reference to the payment (transaction id, date/time, amount and mode) is deemed compliant; post invoice payments require provision of the QR Code on the invoice.

Unblocking and refund timelines for application money reduced, accelerating ASBA account unblocking and refund processing for investors.
SEBI shortens refund and unblocking timelines for application monies in public issues by substituting a reduced four-day period into the specified SEBI (ICDR) Regulations for cases of non-receipt of minimum subscription and for failure to obtain listing or trading permission, reflecting ASBA and UPI operational arrangements and intermediary responsibilities for investor compensation.

Assessment scope under section 144B specified: designated classes of pending and new assessments to be completed under that provision.
The order specifies that assessments pending on the cutoff and those initiated thereafter, excluding central charges and international taxation charges, which fall within four categories - notices issued by NeAC/NaFAC, returns filed under section 139 or in response to section 142(1)/148(1) with a section 143(2) notice by the Assessing Officer or Prescribed Income tax Authority, failure to file after a section 142(1) notice, and failure to file after section 148(1) where a section 142(1) notice was issued - shall be completed under section 144B.

Faceless Assessment hierarchy: Pr. CCsIT regions made cadre controlling authority; NaFAC to frame guidelines and oversight.
Pr. CCsIT of each region is designated as Cadre Controlling Authority for all regional field formations including ReFACs and is responsible for jurisdictional hierarchy, administrative functioning and completion of Faceless Hierarchy targets; CCsIT (ReFAC) reports to the regional Pr. CCIT for APAR purposes while Pr. CCIT (NaFAC) may provide inputs.

Suspension of registration for return discrepancies: affected taxpayers must respond timely or face cancellation proceedings.
Sub-rule (2A) permits suspension of registration where comparison of returns, GSTR 1 outward details, or supplier derived inward supplies reveal significant differences indicating contravention and immediate threat to revenue; affected taxpayers are to be intimated electronically (FORM GST REG 31 or, pending portal functionality, FORM GST REG 17 on dashboard) and must explain within the prescribed reply period why their registration should not be cancelled, submitting responses via FORM GST REG 18 for proper officer examination leading to either FORM GST REG 20 (drop/revocation) or FORM GST REG 19 (cancellation).

Certificate of Origin (Preferential) updated: specified agencies authorised to issue CoO under India-Mauritius CECPA.
Director General of Foreign Trade amends Appendix 2B of the Foreign Trade Policy to list the agencies authorised to issue Certificate of Origin (Preferential) for the India-Mauritius CECPA, naming product specific certification authorities (export inspection agencies, marine products authority, textile and silk bodies, spices and coir boards, tobacco board, APEDA), specified SEZs and EOUs within their jurisdictions, and regional certification offices as authorised issuers.

Import quota allocation for pet coke imports requires environmental compliance, licensed application, and strict utilisation and reporting obligations.
Procedure establishes annual import quota allocation and application mechanism for Calcined Pet Coke for aluminum and Raw Pet Coke for CPC manufacturing for 2021-2022, subject to environmental guideline compliance, submission of pollution control board capacity and consent certificates, timely online application with fee, allocation by the designated committee, issuance of authorizations by regional licensing authorities valid till fiscal year end, mandatory reporting of consignments and consolidated post period reports, surrender or notification of unutilised quantity by prescribed cut off, and disqualification or deduction for failure to surrender or utilise allocated quantities.

Annual updation of IEC now exempt from application fee when filed during the April-June updation window each year.
An insertion in Appendix-2K provides that annual updation of IEC submitted during the April-June updation window, pursuant to the Handbook of Procedures provision on updation, shall attract nil application fee; consequently no fee will be charged for updation applications filed in that period under the Scale of Application Fee.

Extension of Handbook of Procedures validity to 30 September 2021 prolongs operative FTP provisions accordingly.
The Public Notice amends the Handbook of Procedures (HBP) 2015-20 by substituting references in para 1.01, para 3.20(a), and the first sentence of para 4.12(vi) to change the operative cut-off date to 30th September, 2021, extending the HBP's validity until that date and taking effect immediately under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020.

FPI investment limits reaffirmed for corporate bonds and interim treatment for government securities pending revised limits.
The Reserve Bank confirmed FPI investment rules for FY 2021 22: the corporate bond cap remains at 15% of outstanding stock and rounded revised corporate bond ceilings for the year are provided. Revised limits for Central Government securities and State Development Loans will be advised separately and, until then, existing G Sec and SDL ceilings continue to apply. Authorized Dealer Category I banks must inform their constituents. Directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Advance Authorizations closure requires online submission, linked repositories, auto-fetched EDI documents, and limited physical filings.
DGFT requires online filing for closure and Export Obligation fulfilment of Advance Authorizations, enabling Redemption, Surrender, Duty Paid Regularization, Bond Waiver and Clubbing via a licence closure application linked to online Repositories. EDI Shipping Bills and e-BRCs are auto-fetched; Non-EDI bills, GST invoices, CA/CE/CS certificates, TR Challans and BG/LUT must be uploaded by applicants. Certifying authorities may onboard to digitally sign certificates, and TR Challans and Bank Guarantees/LUT/Corporate Guarantees remain subject to limited physical submission recorded and linked by the Regional Authority.

FPI surrender guidelines require DDPs to confirm nil balances, no pending proceedings and promptly close accounts.
Surrender of FPI registration requires the DDP to obtain a No Objection Certificate after confirming that the applicant's FPI accounts have nil balances and are blocked, the applicant's CP code is blocked, no dues or proceedings are pending, and thereafter to close all accounts and deactivate the CP code within ten working days of receiving the NOC.

Advance Bill of Entry filing permits house transport documents and automated master-document updates for import clearance.
Section 46 requires advance filing of Bills of Entry, generally by the end of the day preceding arrival, subject to mode- and consignment-based exceptions. Airport and Land Customs Station imports may be filed by the end of arrival day, while specified seaport consignments receive the same deadline. Late filing attracts late charges. Advance Bills of Entry may be filed with House Bill of Lading or House Airway Bill details where master transport documents are unavailable. The Master Bill of Lading or Master Airway Bill may later be updated through an automated, fee-free online amendment.

Container scanning procedure at MXCS streamlines import movement, verification, endorsements, and examination before Out of Charge.
Mobile X-Ray Container Scanner (MXCS) at JNPCT Terminal has been commissioned for import container scanning selected through RMS risk parameters. Selected containers must remain within the terminal until scanned, with movement responsibilities allocated among terminal operators, shipping lines, CFSs, transporters, importers and customs brokers depending on cargo category. The notice prescribes physical verification, driver safety precautions, endorsement of scanned clean, scanned suspicious or not scanned due to ODC, and downstream 100% examination for suspicious containers before Out of Charge is granted.